A surprise in the defensive backfield

(From Lovasea Carroll’s Twitter)

Former four-star running back and freshman Bulldog Lovasea Carroll has started spring football camp taking reps at cornerback.

According to head coach Kirby Smart, the move is just “experimental.”

"We recruited him as a running back; we’re really deep at the running back position,” Smart said earlier this week. “He’s probably going to be a factor on our team on special teams. We think he’s really fast. He’s embraced the position. He’s made some good plays and he’s made some bad plays.

He’s not played this position, so to put him out there and put him on some experienced wideouts and guys who have played a lot of football, it’s probably not fair to him. But that’s how you grow and that’s how you get better."

This past offseason, Georgia lost three cornerbacks to the upcoming NFL Draft. So, with little experience in the defensive backfield, Smart and the coaching staff came up with this decision, which isn’t surprising, to say the least.

When former Bulldog Mark Webb was recruited out of high school, he played wide receiver. Then, when the Philadelphia native arrived on campus, he was moved to defensive back. The same goes for Mecole Hardman, who moved from defensive back to wide receiver. Also, Tae Crowder was a wide receiver out of high school but was moved to defensive back. All of these moves under Smart proved to work out well, so this move might not prove to be costly.

Smart said that he’s had former players in the past who wished they could have moved from offense to defense.

“I’ve been around a lot of good running backs,” Smart said. “I’ve been around a lot of good running backs I’ve signed at other places that came to me and said, ‘Man, I wish I had played corner, based on what these guys are getting paid in the NFL. The shelf life of a corner is much longer than the shelf life of a back, and there are a lot more corners active in the NFL than backs.”